Unexpected Backup
by gothraven89
Summary: While apprehending a suspect, the NCIS team get a little help from someone unexpected. Things get complicated from there.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, If I did, Jimmy Palmer would get a little more respect.

Surprising Backup

It was another day at NCIS, Tony Dinozzo, Ziva David, and Timothy McGee and team leader Leroy Gibbs all piled into the vehicles. They were headed for a Dojo/gym, where it had been confirmed that their prime suspects in the murder of Naval Officer Todd Goodman was training. Ducky had done the autopsy with the help of one of his other assistants, Palmer had the day off. The drive to the dojo was thankfully uneventful save for the three younger agents heatedly talking amongst themselves.

" I still say Jimmy Palmer is a wimp." Said Tony

" I say you are wrong." Said Ziva, she had always liked the mild mannered Medical Assistant.

" I have to admit, I think he could use a little more back bone." Piped up McGee.

" Oh, look who's talking." Piped Ziva.

This was the beginnings of another argument when Gibbs decided he'd had enough.

" Next person to say another word will have to answer to me." Growled Gibbs.

The three other agents immediately went silent as they pulled up to there destination. They got out and headed inside.

The dojo was packed with men and women training in several styles of martial arts from Jiu Jitsu to Kickboxing.

" Woah, check that guy out." Said McGee, pointing at the Kendo mats. They all diverted their attention to the group of masked fighters with wooden samurai swords.

While most of the fighters were dressed in traditional black armor and under garments, one fighter stood out in bright red over black undergarments. The other fighters had formed a circle around this fighter and were trying and failing to take him down. While Tony, Ziva, and McGee looked on in fascination, Gibbs walked over to one of the trainers and flashed out the picture of their suspect, Mike Jenko.

" Yeah I know him, Mike, he's over there at the punching bags." Said the trainer as he pointed to an area a few feet away from the Kendo spectacle. Gibbs walked back to his three agents in time to hear a snippet of their conversation.

" I bet you I can beat that guy." Said Tony smugly. Causing both Ziva and McGee to roll their eyes. Tony was about to continue when a smack to the back of the head made him shut up immediately and following Gibbs, with Ziva and McGee following behind him with twin smirks. They made their way past the Kendo mats, where the fighter in red had just taken down hisfinal opponent,towards the punching bags. Gibbs zeroed in on the short haired, muscular man in a black tank and gray sweats, punching .

" Mike Jenko?" Asked Gibbs calmy. In reply,Mike Jenko didn't even turn around when he was adress, instead, he bolted.

" Stop, NCIS!Yelled Gibbs as he pulled out his gun and ran after Jenko, the three other agents following.

Much to Gibbs's chagrin, Jenko was going to get a clear path to the gym exit. Then a flash of red caught the corner of the NCIS Agent's eyes.Out of nowhere, the red armored Kendo fighter had placed himself directly in Jenko's path.

Mike Jenko didn't no what hit him as a solid fist to his gutsent him flying backwards, into the waiting armsof Gibbs and his agents. Mike Jenko was winded, and caught.

Tonypounced on Jenko and cuffed him whileGibbs, Ziva, andMcGee holstered their weapons. Gibbs made his way over to the Kendo fighter, ready to chew him out andthen thank him for taking down a fleeing suspect.

" That was a very stupid thing to do, he could have been armed!" Yelled Gibbs.

In reply, the Fighter reached up and gripped the mask that obscured his face, pulling it off to reveal who he was.

" With all do respect sir, I knew he wasn't armed and I'm good at take downs." Said Jimmy Palmer without a hint of thenervousness he usually had as Ducky's unssure medical assistant.

" Palmer? What the hell?" Asked a very stunned Gibbs.

" It's my day off sir, decided to brush up on my Kendo." Answered Jimmy. He didn't have his glasses on, and his dark hair wasstanding up in small spikes at the front.

" Palmer?" Asked Tony in disbelief.

" James?" Added Ziva. McGee wasat a loss for words.

" Sir, why don't we finish this discussion back at NCIS, you have a suspect to interrogate." Said Palmer before he turned and walked away.

"Indeed we will." Said Gibbs to the retreating figure before getting back to business.

Ducky'sassistant hadsome explaining to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, If I did, Jimmy Palmer would kick major ass.

No Whimp Here

The drive back to NCIS was made in still stunned silence on the parts of McGee, Ziva, and Tony. Gibbs kept his focus on the job at hand, they had a suspect to interrogate and and explanation from Palmer later.

Ten minutes later, they were pulling up to NCIS and getting Jenko into one of the interrogation rooms. Needless to say, the man cracked under Gibbs's hard gaze, confessing to shooting the petty officer because he'd been looking at his girl.

" Get him out of my sight!" Barked Gibbs as he headed back to the upstairs. After the brief elevator ride, the door opened and he game face to face with a pair of green eyes. Jimmy Palmer. He stood sanzHarry Potter glasses,in a tight black T-shirt that exposed a cat-like physic and well bulit arms the Hospital scrubs he usually wore were able to hid very well.

" Palmer." Said Gibbs aloofly as he stepped out of the elevator.

" Agent Gibbs." Said Jimmy, still no hint of the nervouse corner's assistant they were all used to. The two men stared at each other in silence, Jimmy looking Gibbs straight in the eyes.

" You have some explaining to do." Said Gibbs, secretly surprised the kid had a backbone.

" I'm athree time Kendo Champion, it was my day off and you just happened to pay the gym I work out at a visit." Said Jimmy with a small shrug.

" You put yourself in danger Palmer and though you took down a fleeing suspect, you aren't a feild agent. Anything could have happened." Said Gibbs sternly.

" Sorry sir, it won't happen again." Said Jimmy with a small bow of his head.

" By the way, that's a mean punch you got there." Said Gibbs, a tiny copliment.

" Thank you sir." Said witha small smile, his green eyes conveying quite strength and somthing else Gibbs couldn't quiet place yet.

Gibbs was about to ask Palmer somthing when Tony, Ziva, and McGee rounded the corner. Instantly, the three unleashed a barage of questions.

" Hey Palmer, since when do you know Kung Fu?" Asked Tony.

" It's not kung fu, it is Kendo, and when were you going to spill the beads?" Asked Ziva.

" I think you mean beans, Ziva." Corrected McGee.

In reply, all Jimmy did was give them a mysterious little smile before nodding to Gibbs and walking past them to the waiting elevator. Before the doors closed he spoke.

" I might tell you guys later, right now, I'm gonna enjoy the rest of my day off. See you tomorrow." Said Jimmy before the elevator doors slid shut.

The three NCIS agents turned to their and eyed the tiny smile that graced Gibbs's lips. The Senior agent turned to his agents, zeroing in on Tony.

" Still think he's a whimp Dinozzo?"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, If I did, Jimmy Palmer would kick major ass.

Brother Thou Art an Enemy

It was a cloudy day at NCIS and at the morgue, Dr. Donald Mallard was very annoyed at that moment, his assistant, Jimmy Palmer was very very late. To top it off, they had a very big case with multiple fatalities. Ducky wasn't the only one who was pissed, Gibb's never like a lack of puctuality. The second Jimmy Palmer showed his face, he'd be getting a talking too from both bosses.

At the morgue, which was short staffed, Ducky was examining one of the dead Petty Officers caught in the blast at the Military base. He heard the doors open and looked up to see Gibbs stride in, Tony, Ziva, and McGee barely keeping up with him. '

" What have we got Ducky?" Asked Gibbs in his Gibbs way.

"Thisman died from shrapnel from the blast hitting his jugular atjust the right angle, poor fellow bled out. " Said Ducky as he stepped away from the body on the slab.

" By the way, has anyone seen that assistant of mine?" Asked Ducky. Four head shook negative and Ducky heaved a small sigh and shook his head as well.

Gibbs huffed before he turned and began to walk towards the morgue doors, barking orders as he went.

" Dinozzo, Ziva, McGee, get to work on finding the sonof a bitch that is responcible for this. Iwant answers right..." Gibbs was about to say now when he stopped dead, his blue eyes staring into painfilled green ones. Behind him, he heard Ziva gasp and Tony call out Jesus's name softly. McGee was stunned into silence.

Standing before the four NCIS Agents was Jimmy Palmer, battered and bloodied, bruises and cuts marring the pale face, also, he was covered in dirt. The disheveled young man took a step forward, his face tight and drawn, obviously in utter agony. That seemed to snap Gibbs out of his horrified trance. The senior agent lunged forward and gently gripped the battered young man's elbow.

" Jimmy, Jimmy what the hell happened?" Asked Gibbs urgently as he directed the young man into the nearest chair he could find.

" Dear sweet Lord of mercy!" Exclaimed Duck as he caught sight of his Assistant's appearance. With a barely concealed groan, Jimmy lowered himself into the chair, Gibbs and the other surrounding him.

Jimmy looked up into Gibbs's pale blue eyes and swallowed painfully before he spoke.

" I... I tried to stop him," Rasped Palmer, Gibbs caught sight of the livid discoloration under the collar of the now ruined button up shirt the young man was wearing. Someone had tried to choke the life out of him.

" What are you taking about?" Asked Tony, deeply disturbed to see the young man in his present state.

" The bombing at the military base... I couldn't stop him..." Trailed of Jimmy as a particularly strong wave of pain crashed into his battered body, tears slowly welling up in his green eyes. He turned his pain fill gaze to the floor.

" Who did this?" Asked Gibbs, gently reaching under the young man's chin and tilting his head up until green eyes met blue.

" His name is Keith Palmer... He's my brother."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, If I did, Jimmy Palmer would kick major ass.

No Comfort For The Guilt Ridden

_" His name is Keith Palmer... He's my brother"_

These simple word brought with them a deathly silence marred only by Jimmy's harsh breathing. After what seemed an eternity, Gibbs spoke.

" Dinozzo, get Palmer to the hospital, have him taken care of, then take him somewhere safe. " Barked Gibbs as he reached out and helped the battered young man to his feet before Tony took over with a determined nod. The two of them walked slowly passed the concerned and still stunned faces of Ziva, McGee, and Ducky. As they passed the M.E., Jimmy paused and turned to Ducky.

" Sorry I was late sir." Rasped Jimmy before bowing his head as a fresh wave of pain washed over him.

Ducky felt a deep pang of guilt as he watched his assistant limp away with Tony's help. The annoyance he'd felt was long gone.

" His brother did that to him?" Asked McGee, breaking the silence.

" Apparently so, this brother also bombed a U.S military base and killed all those men." Said Ziva grimly.

" This brother is going to answer for everything he's done, you can bet on that, know get back to work!" Barked Gibbs, barely contained fury lacing his voice.

Tony hated seeing Jimmy Palmer like this, the bruises marring him becoming more and more pronounced by the second as the two of them rode the elevator up to the main floor.The doors opened and they were greeted by lovely Goth girl, Abby Scuito, who at first smiled jovially at them. The smile quickly disappeared when she saw the state Jimmy was in.

" JIMMY, WHAT HAPPENED!" She exclaimed in concern.

" Big Bro stopped by for a visit." Rasped Palmer as Tony gently led him out of the elevator towards the main doors thatwould lead them to the parking lot.

The drive to the ER was in utter silence with Tony stealing glances at his injured passenger, who sat gazing out the window with sad, almost weepy eyes. When they reached the ER, Jimmy wordlessly got out with Tony keeping a firm yet gentle grip on his arm. The two men walked through the doors. They walked up to the front desk where Tony did all the talking and signing in.

" Excuse memiss but I could really use a doctor for my friend here, he got worked over pretty good."

The young woman behind the desk glanced at Jimmy, who was standing behind Tony, trying to hid the vivid discoloration around his throat with the color of his shirt. He was glad Tony was doing all the talking, he knew he wouldn't be able to use his voice in a few more minutes.

The receptionist waved over a male doctor with wavy brown hair and deep-drown eyes. He took one look at Jimmy and immediately sprung into action.

" The two of you come with me, Cassy, is there an exam room open?" Asked the Doctor to the receptionist. She nodded and pointed down the hall.

" Exam 3 is clear." She said quietly before giving Jimmy a reassuring smile as he and Tony followed the Doctor.

" I'm Dr. Hess, Mr. Palmer, please take a seat on the bed for me." Said Dr. Hess. Tony watched as Jimmy all but sleepwalked his way over to the bed and sat down, his green eyes staring vacantly at the grey tiles of hospital floor.

Dr. Hess gently reached out with his now latex gloved hands and tilted Jimmy's head up for a better look at the cuts and bruises on his face as well as the livid bruising around his throat. Tony winced when he saw the purplish black bruises. Jimmy however, remained vacant and silent throughout this.

" I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt." Said Dr. Hess quietly, his eyes showing his sympathy for the young man. Jimmy obeyed and began unbuttoning his ruined shirt. When it came time to shrug it off, Tony saw the badly hidden grimace and moved into action.

" I got it." He said quietly and quenched any protest with a stern look. Jimmy lowered his gaze back to the floor and allowed Tony to gently ease the shirt off of his shoulders, exposing more bruises and what looked horrifyingly like tazer burns.

" Jesus." Swore Dr. Hess softly behind a equally horrified Tony. The doctor managed to shake himself out of his stupor and set to work examining the damage.

Throughout this, Jimmy kept his gaze to the wall and only seemed to snap out of it when Tony gently tilted his chin up so that they were staring at each other.

What Tony saw in those green eyes made him want to find Keith Palmer and bash his head in personally.

In Jimmy Palmer's eyes were unshed tears and guilt.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.

Chapter 5: A Dark Past Revealed

After Dr. Hess was done with his examination complet with X-rays, he handed Jimmy a hospital gown to wear for the time being.

Jimmy managed to put the thin garment on by himself, eventhough Tony had moved to assist, biting back the agony this caused before he gently laid down on the hospital bed.

Dr. Hess pulled Tony aside to discuss Jimmy Palmer's current condition.

" I can't be certain until the X-rays come back, but, your friend there's made of hard stuff. He suffered one hell of a beating but, nothing appears to be broken, maybe one rib dislocation but, the damage shoulde heal up just fine if he takes it easy. I'm more concerned about the burns on his torso and the bruising around his throat."

Tony nodded before he turned his concerned gaze to the young man curled up on the bed, who's brow was knitted in supressed pain.

_" How could someone do that to their own brother?"_ Thought Tony as he eyes the painful swallow Jimmy took, the bruises growing even more livid against his pale skin.

An hour later, the doctor and some nurses were done patching Jimmy up.

With a tiny groan, Jimmy hoisted himself up onto unsteady feet, his upper body was partially mummified by two layers of medical gauze, for both the tazer burns and his bruised ribs.

Tony was immediately at his side, ready to be there in case Jimmy's legs failed him.

Jimmy sent Tony a warning look, his jade green eyes flashed with a dangerous light for a brief moment. Tony felt his heart freeze at the look, if only for a second.

However, just as quickly as this look had come into the young man's eyes, in vanished, being replaced by a sheer anguish and defeat that was so powerful in it's misery that Tony had to look away.

" C'mon, let's get out of here." He said quietly as he led the way out of the ER.

Jimmy nodded mutely and followed Tony, albeit very slowly due to just how much abuse he'd suffered.

By the time they'd reached Tony's car, Jimmy's complexion had grown to a pale paper white, his whole visage screamed of agony.

Finally, Tony had had enough of the soicism.

He lashed out and gripped Jimmy's arm, being careful to be gentle but firm.

He felt the muscles go wire tight beneath his palm, Jimmy opened his mouth to protest but, Tony beat him to the punch.

" Take it easy man, all the warning looks in the world aren't gonna stop me from being worried. So, let me help you in whatever way I can, and stop sending me the that "Death Glare" of yours." Said Tony, feeling encouraged by the tiny little ghost of a smile that dance across his charge's bruise and pale face. But then, the mask of melancholy returned and Jimmy's eyes fell to gaze at the ground before he spoke, his voice a whispery rasp.

" Fine."

Satisfied for now, Tony nodded before he opened the passenger side door of his car and helped Jimmy into the seat before he walked around to the driver's side and got in himself.

Then, they were off, Tony's car gracefully weaving its way out of the hospital parking lot.

For the better part of eternity, they drove in silence before Jimmy spoke, his voice a harsh croak.

" Keith... he knows where I live."

" Then you're staying at NCIS. It's the one place we can all keep an eye on you." Said Tony immediately.

Jimmy nodded mutely before turning his gaze to the window before he spoke.

" My brother's always hated me, eversince I was born, he blamed me for our mother's death, and as I found out last night, he still does."

The shrill sound of tires screeching against asphalt filled the air as Tony foot slammed onto the brake.

Thankfully, they had come to a halt near the side of the road.

Tony gawked at Jimmy with wide, disbelieving eyes.

" What?" asked Tony, his voice merely an octave above a whisper.

" Our mom, she bled out after I'd been delivered. Keith blamed me for taking his mom from him. My dad and grandma were the only two people in the world who ever loved me growing up. Dad he, tried to control Keith but, my big brother was filled with so much hatred and rage towards me, maybe even the whole world that, there was nothing anyone could do. Then, everything changed. I was thirteen, I came home from school one day and found my father in the livingroom, laying in a pool of his own blood. He'd been stabbed multiple times... I knew it was Keith who'd done it. And I... I was so terrified that Keith was still in the house that I dropped everything and ran to my grandma's house. When I got to my Grandma's, I was so releived when she answered the door. I started crying, I told her what had happened, she called the police. They came and took us both into protective custody while they sent out a manhunt for Keith. That night was the last time I ever saw home, from the back of Protective Services car. After that, me and grandma, we changed our names and moved around for a while before it was only me wandering from place to place. Then, I got accepted to medical school and after that, found myself a job as Dr. Mallard's assistant at NCIS." Jimmy's trailed off, he was finding it difficult to speak, because of both the bruising around his throat and the pain of having to relive one of the worst days of his life.

Tony Dinozzo was rendered speechless, for once in his life.

After an eternity, Jimmy spoke.

" We should hurry, Gibbs'll be expecting you." He said quietly.

That seemed to snap Tony out of his stupor.

" R-Right." He stuttered before he turned his car back on and pulled back onto the road back to NCIS.

The rest of the drive was made in silence, with Tony glancing at his passenger at almost every waking second.

When they finally reached NCIS, Tony was out the driver's side door and around to the passenger side in an instant.

This time, Jimmy just gave him a sad, defeated look as he allowed Tony to help him out of the car. He did however, insist on walking on his own.

When they got to the building, Jimmy turned to Tony and spoke, his voice barely a raspy whisper as they stood before the elevators.

" Tony, I told you what I told you in the car so that you could tell him for me, I think in a few more minutes my voice'll be totally useless... I'm just gonna go lie down somewhere."

No sooner had these words been spoken, the door opened to reveal a very miserable looking Abby Scuito who, at catching sight of Jimmy, let out a little sob and them pounced on him, pulling him into a fierce embrace.

Tony was about to pull Abby off of the injured man when Jimmy gave him a reassuring look before returning Abby's hug.

After several minutes, Abby pulled away, a look of fierceness in her eyes.

" You coming to my lab and staying there, and you won't argue." She spoke, looking Jimmy straight in the eye.

Jimmy gave her a tired smile and nodded his head as Abby clasp his hand in her own and all but dragged him into the elevator she'd taken to get up to the lobby.

Before the elevator doors closed, Jimmy pinned Tony with a poignant look.

Tony gave a small nod before he boarded the other elevator that would take him up to the bullpen.

He had some startling new information to relay to the rest of the team.

And they also had a wayward older brother to catch before he struck again.


End file.
